Angel of Light: Here's the next chapter!
Cody: I think they know that…….
Angel of Light: Be quiet, Cody.
Cody: I'm just stating the obvious…….
Angel of Light: Well, so am I.
Cody: *rolls eyes*
The massive ship finally reached it's destination. The soldiers exited the craft, and headed for the stronghold. Some were appointed to horses, and would be a part of the mounted forces. The others were set to be on foot.
T.K. was appointed to a massive, Dutch Warmblood stallion. The horse's classification number was B611, as names were not given to them.
The stallion's coat was flawless, and black as night. His mane and tail were cut short, mostly for a polished look, but also so they wouldn't get in the way. He was well built, and muscles rippled beneath his skin as he walked. Everything about him was perfect, but that was the same for every horse in the army.
T.K. was awed by the creature. He hadn't really ridden a lot, but neither had anyone else. Training would begin the next morning. The boy stroked the stallion's neck, who didn't really pay mind to him, just munched on some fresh hay that had been put into his stall. T.K. was determined not to call the horse by it's number, but name it. Cyclone's Fury. ((A/N: Don't ask…….))
Tai, however, was assigned to be on ground patrol. He was given a rifle, armed with a knife on it's end. His training too would begin early the next morning.
While wandering through the halls, Tai met some soldiers that were not from their town. He also managed to run into T.K. The two of them, against all odds, ended up in the same bunker. ((A/N: I'm the author….I can do these things….)) Along with them, was three more soldiers, who did not come from their town. One was a blonde that looked a lot like T.K., but was much more secretive. The next was rather loud-mouthed and obnoxious, around T.K.'s age. The last, was also very quiet, but also very kind-hearted.
As they settled in, an awkward silence hung in the air. Obviously, the three knew each other, or at least knew of each other.
Outside, someone hollered at them to pack it on for the night. It would be an early morning.
The room was small, and three bunks were packed into it. The only room left was for standing.
Very little dialogue was exchanged between roommates, and even then it wasn't all that significant.
The night was growing old, and Tai still hadn't managed to get much sleep. The others in his room were doing fine, or so it seemed. He felt bad about leaving her behind, and hoped that he could keep his promise. Also, for his sister's sake, he had to do everything possible to make sure T.K. wasn't killed in battle.
The rustling of sheets and the movement on a body caught his attention. It was apparent that he wasn't the only having some trouble sleeping. He poked his head down, and peered at the boy below him.
"You're up too, huh." He mused.
"Yup", replied T.K.
"Thinkin' about what's going to happen to you?"
"Yeah, that and the fact that I really don't want to be here. At first, I thought it would be kind of nice, you know, fighting and then coming back a hero, but now I have my doubts. I'm scared, that I'll never see her again." The blonde replied.
Tai's face softened, "I know what you mean. I made a promise, and I told her I had to do this, but, now I wish I had listened….."
"I guess it's a little late now, isn't it." T.K. joked.
"Maybe just a little….."
T.K. yawned. He'd finally found a small ounce of tiredness, and he was going to take advantage of it. Tai smiled as the younger blonde dropped off to sleep, as if someone had turned off a switch in his brain. He rolled back over onto his back, and let his mind wander.
He thought back to the times where he was with Sora. She was everything to him, the reason he lived. She had given him the will to keep going, even when times were rough. Tai loved everything about her, the way she walked, talked, even the way she looked when she was mad at him. Old memories began to flood his head.
~*~Flashback~*~
"Hey Sora!" Tai called as he walked up to her house. She was sweeping the doorstep and porch, which hadn't been done in a while.
Her face lit up as she saw him.
"What brings you here today?"
"What? Am I not allowed to come see you anymore?" He asked, leaning on the fence.
"No, of course not. It's been forbidden", Sora replied jokingly.
"Well then, I guess I'll leave", he said in mock rejection.
The red-head watched him go for a moment, then ran after him.
"Of course, I was never one to follow the rules."
Tai smiled at this.
"So, what was the real reason you came by?"
"I was serious when I said I wanted to see you, but also about tonight."
"Oh?" Sora knew what was coming. The annual festival was coming up, and she knew he was going to ask her to go with him, but she let him ask her, to make it more painful. He never one to handle rejection easily, and didn't ask too many things of people.
"What are your plans tonight?" He asked.
"Well, I was planning on just staying home, you know, do some chores, help my mother….." The girl smiled. She wanted to make his difficult.
Tai was confused at first, but then caught on.
"Oh, alright then. I was going to ask you of you wanted to go to the festival, but since you have plans, I'll ask someone else." He couldn't help but smile.
The boy turned and started to walk away again, but she stopped him, again.
"Did you seriously think I would stay at home and work, than be with you?" She asked.
"Nope." Tai replied.
Sora smacked him lightly on the side of his head, then turned and went back to her house.
"I'll see you later then", she said without turning around.
That night had been one of the most memorable tome for the two of them. After most of the partying was done, the pair went for a walk down through the forest that skirted the town. They stopped at a clearing, and well, you can pretty well imagine what they did.
Sora stared deep into his hazel coloured eyes, losing herself in them. Her arms were placed on his chest.
His arms snaked their way around her waist, and pulled her closer. Their faces drew closer together, as if they were magnetized. Within moments, their lips locked into a kiss, that grew progressively passionate with time.
Moments like these may not be significant to those not involved, but to those who were, they can be as eminent and as endless as the universe itself.
~*~End Flashback~*~
Finally, sleep found Tai as well.
In the morning, the bunkhouse was busy and full of life. It was very unusual for this many young men to be up at five, but they would have to adjust.
The mounted troops had to get up even earlier, because all training had to start at the same time, and they had one extra thing to get ready; the horses. It was times like this that one would wish horses could get themselves ready. Because of this, T.K. had already left. It also turned out that the obnoxious maroon-headed boy was also assigned to a horse.
Tai had no intentions of getting up this early. His roommates, however, weren't going to let him sleep in while the others had to get up. It was then that Tai found out they actually had a sense of humour.
While he was sleeping, the older blonde left the room, and went to the bathroom. With him, he brought a rather large bottle. He cranked the cold water on the tap up, and filled it. The next thing Tai knew, he was having a very unwanted, very cold shower.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tai screamed. As he shot up, he also fell off of the bed. The top bunk is a lot further away from the ground than you would think…….
The boy burst out laughing, and fell back on one of the lower bunks.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" Tai, now very unhappy, shouted.
"Well, we couldn't just let you sleep." The other said.
Tai sighed, and got up off the floor. He found his uniform, and headed to one of four washrooms in the vicinity. He sauntered through the halls sleepily, along with the other late risers. He found some familiar faces in the crowd as well.
After finally getting ready, Tai made his long trek back to his room. There, he found the other two boys chatting.
"You guys are still here?" Tai asked.
"Yeah. We were waiting for you." The dark-haired one replied.
Tai thought for a moment. Maybe these guys weren't as bad as he had first thought.
"Anyways, I'm Matt, and that's Ken. The other kid is Davis. He can get on your nerves, but he's generally a nice guy….." The blonde boy said.
"Oh, well, I'm Tai. The other one's T.K."
"I know." Matt told him.
Tai shot him a questioning look, as did Ken.
"He's my brother."
The two men looked at Matt in shock.
"What?! He never told me he had a brother!" Tai exclaimed.
"I know. We haven't seen each other in a while, our parents split up. It was a shock to see him here though. I wasn't expecting it."
Tai nodded his head, and took a glance at the clock.
"It's time for breakfast", he said.
"Let's go then", Ken suggested.
Without a reply, the two older men headed out the door. Ken followed.
They wandered down the halls, following the crowd. Everyone was going in the same direction. The soldiers marched down the halls, elegant as drunk elephants. They mechanically filed into the mess hall, and got the not-so-edible food that is served in cafeterias. The group of three found a spot at the end of one of the long tables, in the corner.
"So, how's my little brother been?" Matt asked.
"He's been doing well, actually. He was supposed to get married in a few weeks, but got called off to war." Tai replied while picking at the mush on his plate.
"Married?!" Matt exclaimed, very surprised. "Hmph. My little brother is getting married, and I'm not even involved with anyone." He complained. "What's she like?"
Tai had to laugh. Matt was changing moods very quickly.
"Actually, she's my sister."
Matt's fork clanged onto is plate. An expression of shock occupied his face.
"Ask him about her, he'll tell you."
Before Matt could reply, the signal sounded for the band of soldiers to clean up and head out.
The training was hard, both physically and mentally. By the end of each day, every living thing involved would be pouring with sweat, and would be incredibly tired. They started inside the fortress walls, then eventually moved out onto the vast plains. The sun beat down mercilessly on them, scorching their skin and making the work even harder.
This went on for several weeks, as the immediate war threat had not been thrust upon them quite yet.
Then, one November day, the call was sent that the enemy was approaching, fast. The alarm was sounded, and bodies rushed frantically to their posts. A flood of red streamed from the main doors, and a torrent of black gushed from the stable areas.
Some of ground troops were positioned upon the walls, while others were set to go fight hand-to-hand combat. The mounted soldiers positioned at the gate, ready to charge.
*~*~*~*
"Hey, Kari!" Sora called.
"Yeah?"
Sora ran after the girl, and caught her breath once she caught up.
"I just heard some news about the guys", she informed.
Kari became slightly worried, "Is it good, or bad?"
"Well, that depends on how you look at it. They've finally started the battle…"